SATURDAY 25 OCTOBER 2014

SAT 00:00 Book at Bedtime (b00rwx2f)
Naomi Alderman - The Lessons
Love Is Sacrifice
Rory Kinnear reads the Orange New Writer's Award Winner, Naomi Alderman's, second novel, 'The Lessons', a story of ambition, friendship, betrayal and desire. Today: Love is Sacrifice. James tries to pay his way, and ties himself to Mark still further, and Mark reveals a darker and more dangerous side to his character.
Reader Rory Kinnear
Abridger Sally Marmion
Producer Di Speirs
The Lessons is the second novel from Naomi Alderman, winner of the Orange New Writer's Award and Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year. Set among the dreaming spires of Oxford, it follows the progress of a gilded group of under-graduates drawn together by their dazzling and mercurial fellow student Mark Winters. Fuelled by his trust-fund and resident in his Georgian mansion, they live a charmed life of learning and parties and love-affairs. But university is no grounding for real life and none of the friends will be prepared, some years later, when tragedy strikes.
The Lessons is a novel about friendship, ambition, betrayal and desire, and the fact that only life can teach the lessons you really need to learn.
Naomi Alderman won the Orange New Writers Award for her first novel Disobedience and has subsequently been named as the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year. She is a graduate of Lincoln College, Oxford.
Rory Kinnear, fresh from playing Angelo at the Almeida and about to play Hamlet at the National Theatre studied at Balliol College, Oxford and reads his first Book at Bedtime.
SAT 00:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Men of Fashion (b00jrnzd)
The Clothes We're In - The State of Men's Fashion Now
With women's hemlines acting as a social and economic barometer, Laurence asks what men's fashion says about the state we are in.
SAT 00:30 15 Minute Drama (b00pbqv5)
Mike Walker - Scumdog Millionaires
Episode 5
Financial thriller by Mike Walker.
Tim's father appeals to stop the investigations into his alleged unlimited derivatives, but it appears that Tim may already know too much for his own safety.
Tim Ng ...... David Tse Ka-Shing
Kathy ...... Michelle Tate
Father ...... Lobo Chan
Gerry ...... Nigel Hastings
Selma Giddings ...... Kate Leyden
York ...... Rhys Jennings
Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan.
SAT 00:45 Book of the Week (b00mffs3)
William Golding - The Man Who Wrote Lord of the Flies
Episode 5
Christian Rodska reads from John Carey's biography of the prize-winning author.
In 1983, Golding is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
SAT 01:00 Jest a Minute (b012n3rz)
Series 1
Episode 2
Justin Moorhouse, Rob Deering, Chris Corcoran and Tom Allen hit London in Rhod Gilbert's comedy quiz. From September 2006.
SAT 01:30 Pioneers (b014gh85)
Series 2
Professor Sir Alfred Cuschieri
One of the world's pioneers of 'keyhole' surgery, Professor Sir Alfred Cuschieri, chats to Clare English about how the technique revolutionised the medical profession.
Producer: Philip Sime
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in 2011.
SAT 02:00 Cadfael (b007k28z)
Dead Man's Ransom
5. A Helping Hand
With a strong case against Elis, will Brother Cadfael solve the sheriff's murder?
Conclusion of Ellis Peters’ medieval thriller dramatised by Bert Coules.
Cadfael …. Philip Madoc
Hugh Beringar …. Jonathan Tafler
Sister Magdalen …. Susannah York
Elis …. Jason Hughes
Melicent …. Kate Odey
Prince Owain …. Sion Probert
Eliud …. Mark Lewis Jones
Ithel/Herbard …. Shaun Prendergast
Cristina …. Siobahn Flynn
Villager …. David Holt
Narrator …. Michael Kitchen
Music by Peter Salem.
Producer: Lissa Evans
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1991.
SAT 02:30 Thanks for the Memory (b0076xqg)
Nicholas Parsons asks how and why aging impacts so heavily on our minds and memories. He meets scientists at the forefront of research to find out why our memories diminish and speaks to others trying desperately to stop theirs from fading away. Under expert guidance, he exercises his mind and starts training to improve his remembering techniques.
SAT 03:00 Arnold Bennett - Anna of the Five Towns (b01nvmwm)
2. Defiance
Having inherited a fortune on her twenty first birthday Anna Tellwright begins to gain independence and freedom.
But on her return from an eventful holiday with the Suttons and Henry Mynors her joy is marred by some shocking news about one of her tenant's Titus Price. Anna's growing concern for his son William leads her to a defiant act that threatens everything.
Starring Charlotte Riley.
Conclusion of Arnold Bennett's powerful story of love, tyranny and rebellion set against the vitality and harshness of life in the Staffordshire Potteries in the late 19th century.
Dramatised by Helen Edmundson.
Anna.....Charlotte Riley
Tellwright.....David Schofield
Young Agnes.....Emilia Harker
William Price.....Michael Socha
Henry Mynors.....Lee Williams
Beatrice/Older Agnes.....Rosina Carbone
Mrs Sutton.....Olwen May
Mr Sutton/Coroner.....Jonathan Keeble
Sarah Vodrey.....Jacqueline Redgwell
Director: Nadia Molinari
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2011.
SAT 04:00 Afternoon Reading (b00n881t)
A Glimpse of Stocking
A Silly Gigolo
Series of stories celebrating 70 years of nylon stockings.
By Shena Mackay, read by Joanna Tope .
A shy schoolgirl feels the pull of the stage after a humiliating encounter with a glamorous fellow pupil.
SAT 04:15 Ray Jenkins - From the House at the Top of the World (b007w3b8)
Stolen
German archaeologist, Von Le Coq, gets drawn into a race with Aurel Stein to 'steal' treasures from the Buddhist Monasteries and ancient lost oasis towns along the Silk Road crossing the Taklamaken and Gobi Deserts.
Last of three plays by Ray Jenkins based on the diaries of Catherine, Lady McCartney, wife of the British consul in Kashgar, on the roof of the world in Chinese Turkestan.
Stars Siobhan Redmond as Catherine McCartney, Alex Jennings as George McCartney, Sean Baker as Von Le Coq, Ioan Meredith as Aurel Stein, David Tse as Chiang and Stephen Critchlow as Bartus.
Director: Janet Whitaker
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1999.
SAT 05:00 King Street Junior Revisited (b00k2qm8)
Series 3
Rumours
Unlike the rolling stone, school gossip at King Street is virtually guaranteed to gather moss...
School comedy created and written by Jim Eldridge. Ten series of this King Street Junior ran between 1985 and 1998. King Street Junior Revisited ran from 2002 to 2005.
Stars Marlene Sidaway as Miss Lewis, Michael Cochrane as Mr Maxwell, Teresa Gallagher as Miss Featherstone, Jacqueline Beatty as Miss Reid, Janice Acquah as Mrs Khan, Paul Copley as Mr Long and Liza Sadovy as Mrs Sampson.
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2004.
SAT 05:30 Do Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me (b0076hjw)
Series 1
I Could Write a Book
Roy must face up to life after the loss of Leonard, his beloved trombone. Stars Ram Jam Holder. From October 2003.
SAT 06:00 Sherlock Holmes (b007jl84)
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's mystery surrounding Helen Stoner, whose twin sister died in mysterious circumstances on the eve of her wedding. She goes to Holmes and Watson looking for answers.
Stars Cedric Hardwicke as Sherlock Holmes and Finlay Currie as Dr Watson.
First heard on the BBC Home Service in May 1945.
SAT 06:30 The Sound of the Baskervilles (b00776s3)
Russell Davies follows the musical clues to discover what music meant to the Great Detective, Sherlock Holmes. From April 2007.
SAT 07:00 Sherlock Holmes (b007znn3)
The Final Problem
John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson and Orson Welles star in the great detective's encounter at the Reichenbach Falls.
In this adventure, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had hoped to kill the sleuth off, but the public outcry was such that he had to resurrect the character.
John Gielgud plays Sherlock Holmes with Ralph Richardson as Dr Watson. In the series, Holmes brother - Mycroft - was played by Gielgud's brother, Val.
Co-produced with the American Broadcasting Company, the influence of the US producers meant the inclusion of high-ranking American actors, including Orson Welles as Professor Moriarty.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in December 1954.
SAT 07:30 Yes Yes Yes (b007kvwh)
Series 2
A Shot in the Dark
John Rawling recalls the final day of the third test in Pakistan in 2000 when Captain Hussain lifted English spirits from doom. From February 2001.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b01cvcr6)
Playing Doctors and Nurses
Since the broadcasts of the Radio Doctor encouraged the British to open their bowels during the Second World War, the bowels of broadcasting organisations have filled up with factual and fictional series featuring doctors and nurses.
Mark Lawson visits the BBC's written archives centre in Caversham and reads through programme files detailing reactions to some of the Radio Doctor scripts, worries about the accuracy of early documentary dramas and behind the scenes information about the making of well known series including Dr Finlay's Casebook, The Singing Detective and Angels.
He meets the doctor turned writer Richard Gordon, whose name adorns the jackets of the Doctor in the House books, which have been adapted as film, tv and radio series. And he talks to the former medic Jed Mercurio, who created the TV series Cardiac Arrest, which is regularly voted the most realistic medical drama in polls of medical professionals.
Actor Alan Alda explains how his role in Mash helped to save his life and we hear whether Hugh Laurie (star of House) and Helen Baxendale (star of Cardiac Arrest) believe doctors should be seen as heroic figures. Mal Young, the former head of continuing drama serials at the BBC, discusses having to answer complaints about realism, graphic footage and political bias in Casualty and Holby City. Programme makers' responsibilities are debated by Roger Graef, whose many documentaries about aspects of medicine include Inside Great Ormond Street, and who chairs the Mental Health Media Awards: honouring accurate depictions of psychiatric illness in medical fact and fiction.
Dramas which have been condemned by the medical profession for giving patients false hopes of salvation or resuscitation are now used to train would be doctors - what does Richard Gordon think of this trend?
Producer: Robyn Read.
SAT 09:00 I Did It My Way (b009qh5q)
Andy Hamilton
The devil himself talks! The writer and star of 'Old Harry's Game' talks to Peter Reed about his radio life and times.
Featuring The Million Pound Radio Show (July 1991), Old Harry's Game (July 1995 and April 1998), Revolting People (February 2000) and Trevor's World of Sport (Mar 2007).
Andy Hamilton has been involved with some of the finest television comedies of the last four decades - Not the Nine O'Clock News, Drop the Dead Donkey and latterly Outnumbered. Television alone is not the only successful arena for Andy- Old Harry's Game, Revolting People and Trevor's World of Sport are just some of his radio triumphs. 2014 saw Andy's film What We Did On Our Holiday reach cinemas featuring David Tennant, Rosamund Pike and Billy Connolly.
Produced by Martin Dempsey.
SAT 12:00 The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy (Omnibus) (b04mbwdy)
In Rachel Joyce's best-selling novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Queenie Hennessy is told she has days to live. She sends a letter bidding goodbye to Harold Fry. It's a letter that inspires a walk, a cast of well-wishers, a journey of its own. Harold will save her. Harold's story began its life as an award-winning Radio 4 play.
In this Omnibus of the five-part dramatisation of this novel, there's a second letter - a quieter, longer, more complicated letter. Queenie reveals the shocking and beautiful truth of her life - a love song to the man she loves.
'It's all very well for a man to step out of his front door and tell his friend to wait while he walks the length of England. It's an entirely different kettle of fish when you are the woman at the other end.'
Queenie ..... Sophie Thompson
Harold ..... Paul Venables
Sister Mary Inconnue ..... Roslyn Hill
David ..... Monty D'Inverno
Sister Catherine ..... Elaine Claxton
Sister Lucy ..... Hannah Genesius
Finty ..... Jane Slavin
Mr Henderson ..... Michael Bertenshaw
Napier ..... Shaun Mason
Director: Tracey Neale.
First broadcast in five parts on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
SAT 13:15 Dickens Confidential (b01mxtjb)
Series 2
Murder in the Red Barn
Reporter Dan investigates a disturbing discovery in the Thames, while Charles Dickens has a royal audience. Stars Dan Stevens.
SAT 14:00 Doctor at Large (b00939rq)
The Deep End
The medical mishaps of freshly qualified doctors Simon Sparrow, Taffy Evans and Tony Benskin go on and on...
The misadventures of newly qualified doctor, Simon Sparrow - adapted for radio by Ray Cooney from Richard Gordon's 'Doctor at Large' published in 1955.
Starring Richard Briers as Simon Sparrow, Geoffrey Sumner as Sir Lancelot Spratt, Ray Cooney as Tony Benskin and Edward Cast as Taffy Evans.
Special guest stars: Dandy Nichols as the Old Lady and Bill Fraser as Mr Smith.
Producer: David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1969.
SAT 14:30 The Navy Lark (b00vtwxw)
Series 1
The Gun Mechanism Test
Commander Povey decides the island is an ideal spot to try a prototype - on Pertwee's birthday.
Starring Leslie Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Dennis Price as Number One, Richard Caldicot as Commander Povey, Heather Chasen as Heather, Ronnie Barker as AS Johnson, Michael Bates as the Professor and Tenniel Evans as Taffy.
The Navy Lark ran for an impressive thirteen series on BBC Radio between 1959 and 1976.
Scripted by Lawrie Wyman.
Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in May 1959.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b01cvcr6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Sherlock Holmes (b007jl84)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 16:30 The Sound of the Baskervilles (b00776s3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
SAT 17:00 Sherlock Holmes (b007znn3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b00x40p1)
Series 6
The Curse of Count Arthur
With all things 'horror' on his somewhat confused mind, Arthur receives a phone call from his good friend Barry Cryer to say that they have somehow lost Barry's briefcase containing the tickets they require to attend a lunchtime Hammer Horror convention at which they are due.
They decide to re-trace their steps from the previous night, which includes taking in a visit to some local haunts and shops, as well as the Shoulder of Mutton.
With the briefcase (and thus the tickets) nowhere to be found, Arthur and Barry are left to decide what they should do - try and get in to the convention by relying on their good names and reputations alone, or risk missing out on the Hammer Horror lunch...?
Cast:
Count Arthur Strong ..... Steve Delaney
Dracula/Himself ..... Barry Cryer
Sally ..... Melanie Giedroyc
Gerry/Jack ..... Dave Mounfield
Shop Assistant/Wally/
Bouncer/Wilf ..... Alastair Kerr
Producers: Richard Daws, Mark Radcliffe & John Leonard
A Komedia Entertainment & Smooth Operations production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 18:00 Franz Kafka - Metamorphosis (b007k3xn)
Episode 3
Now a monstrous insect, Gregor strives to stay close to his family - but his father turns on him. Read by Benedict Cumberbatch.
PROMOTION NOTE
"When Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from troubled dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous insect."
This shocking opening introduces one of the twentieth century's most famous stories.
Gregor's family react with horror at his bizarre transformation but their horror slowly turns to revulsion and then monstrous indifference as he is left to quietly waste away in his bedroom.
Metamorphosis was first published in 1912.
Benedict Cumberbatch reads this surreal classic in four parts.
Stage and screen actor, Benedict Cumberbatch was Bafta nominated for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in the BBC TV drama, "Hawking". Most recently he appeared in the TV dramatisation of William Golding's seafaring trilogy, "To The Ends of The Earth". He also won critical acclaim playing Hedda's husband, George, in last year's West End production of "Hedda Gabler".
Franz Kafka (1883-1924) ranks among the twentieth-century's most acclaimed writers. He is often cited as the author whose works best evoke the concerns and preoccupations of modern life. The world in his stories is portrayed as one in which the fantastic is entirely normal, the irrational is rational, and the unreasonable seems reasonable. As Ernst Pawel wrote in his biography of the writer, "Kafka articulates the anguish of being human."
Translated by Richard Stokes
(Abridged and produced by Gemma Jenkins).
SAT 18:30 William Golding - Lord of the Flies (b02yl7vs)
Painted Faces
The boys' hair has grown long and their clothes have begun to fall apart since they first found themselves marooned on a deserted island.
Ralph has been appointed leader and marshalled the others into maintaining a signal fire. But a faction of boys abandon their responsibilities in favour of hunting and his authority is called into question.
Judith Adams' dramatisation captures the adventure, atmosphere and chilling undertones of William Golding's tragic vision.
Ralph . . . . . Finn Bennett
Jack . . . . . Richard Linnell
Piggy . . . . . Kasper Hilton Hille
Simon . . . . . Jack Kane
Maurice . . . . . Barney Herrin
Sam . . . . . Bradley Shedden
Eric . . . . . Tomi Fry
Roger . . . . . Edward Bracey
Bill . . . . . Gabriel Brody
Littleun . . . . . Isaac Andrews
Mother . . . . . Stephanie Racine
Narrator . . . . . Ruth Wilson
Director: Sasha Yevtushenko
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2013.
SAT 19:00 I Did It My Way (b009qh5q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Ross Noble Goes Global (b01cvr0t)
Series 2
Egypt
The comedian entertains bewildered Bedouins in the desert and ponders the merits of doing a wildlife show. From May 2003.
SAT 22:30 Lucy Montgomery's Variety Pack (b01322dm)
Series 2
Episode 3
The human chameleon's host of comic characters from a chicken shop worker to a honeymooner.
Multi-paced, one woman Fast Show starring Lucy Montgomery.
With:
Philip Pope
Sally Grace
Waen Shepherd
Natalie Walter
Iris Walker
Written by Lucy Montgomery with additional material by Steve Burge, Jon Hunter, Barunka O'Shaughnessy and Fay Rusling.
Script Editor: Dan Tetsell
Producer: Katie Tyrrell.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2011.
SAT 23:00 Tina C Goes Down Under: The Aborogynal Monologues (b00f41z2)
Tamworth
Country singer and US presidential hopeful Tina C, the comic creation of Christopher Green, looks at the Australian obsession with country music.
Tina looks up Auriel Andrew, famous for her song Truck Drivin' Woman.
SAT 23:15 What to Do If You're Not Like Everybody Else (b0151pz1)
Series 2
Travel
Andrew Lawrence explores how we go about the various journeys we take in everyday life - whether it's the journey to work or to a holiday destination, or just down to the shops.
Another short comedic monologue taking a light-hearted look at various aspects of conventional living and the pressure we feel to conform to social norms and ideals.
Written by Andrew Lawrence.
Producer: Jane Berthoud
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2011
SAT 23:30 Steven Appleby's Normal Life (b00slvww)
Series 2
Normal Time
Cartoonist Steven Appleby claims dinosaurs mastered the 3Rs - reading, writing and riding bicycles.
Paul McCrink stars as Steven Appleby with what he laughably describes as "insights into normal, everyday life".
With:
Rosalind Paul
Ewan Bailey
Nigel Betts
Rachel Atkins
Written by Steven Appleby
Producer: Toby Swift
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2003
SAT 23:45 iGod (b00xhjry)
Religion
We all worry about the end of the world, as economists and environmentalists speak in apocalyptic terms everyday. iGOD says that trying to predict the end of the world is as pointless as moisturising an elephant's elbow.
An unnamed, all-seeing narrator (David Soul) shows us that it is stupid to be worrying, as he looks back at some of the most entertaining apocalypses on parallel Earths.
In this episode a parallel earth is obliterated when Ian inadvertently mucks up global religion.
Starring Simon Day and David Soul.
Written by Sean Gray.
Producer: Simon Nicholls
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2011.


SUNDAY 26 OCTOBER 2014

SUN 00:00 Franz Kafka - Metamorphosis (b007k43b)
Episode 4
Now a monstrous insect, Gregor strives to stay close to his family - but his father turns on him. Read by Benedict Cumberbatch.
PROMOTION NOTE
"When Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from troubled dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous insect."
This shocking opening introduces one of the twentieth century's most famous stories.
Gregor's family react with horror at his bizarre transformation but their horror slowly turns to revulsion and then monstrous indifference as he is left to quietly waste away in his bedroom.
Metamorphosis was first published in 1912.
Benedict Cumberbatch reads this surreal classic in four parts.
Stage and screen actor, Benedict Cumberbatch was Bafta nominated for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in the BBC TV drama, "Hawking". Most recently he appeared in the TV dramatisation of William Golding's seafaring trilogy, "To The Ends of The Earth". He also won critical acclaim playing Hedda's husband, George, in last year's West End production of "Hedda Gabler".
Franz Kafka (1883-1924) ranks among the twentieth-century's most acclaimed writers. He is often cited as the author whose works best evoke the concerns and preoccupations of modern life. The world in his stories is portrayed as one in which the fantastic is entirely normal, the irrational is rational, and the unreasonable seems reasonable. As Ernst Pawel wrote in his biography of the writer, "Kafka articulates the anguish of being human."
Translated by Richard Stokes
(Abridged and produced by Gemma Jenkins).
SUN 00:30 William Golding - Lord of the Flies (b02yl7vs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Archive on 4 (b01cvcr6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries (b0084qwv)
A Surfeit of Lampreys
Gentleman sleuth Inspector Alleyn probes a grisly death of the head of a spendthrift aristocratic family. Stars Jeremy Clyde.
SUN 02:00 The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy (Omnibus) (b04mbwdy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:00 on Saturday]
SUN 03:15 Dickens Confidential (b01mxtjb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:15 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Sherlock Holmes (b007jl84)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:30 The Sound of the Baskervilles (b00776s3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Saturday]
SUN 05:00 Sherlock Holmes (b007znn3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b00x40p1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Mike Walker - Scumdog Millionaires Omnibus (b04mc1xx)
When disgraced trader Tim Ng strikes a deal with the FSA, he is alarmed to find what it will cost him. Stars David Tse Ka-Shing.
SUN 07:10 Inheritance Tracks (b04kfx27)
Sadie Frost
Actress Sadie Frost inherits 'Here Comes the Sun' by the Beatles, and passes on 'Kooks' by David Bowie.
SUN 07:15 Student Bibles (b0075nwl)
Economics
What is the secret to writing a bestselling academic textbook? And will it make you rich? Philippa Budgen examines key student book Begg's Economics.
SUN 07:30 Ed Reardon's Week (b00x9237)
Series 7
In the Current Climate
Radio 4's most curmudgeonly author is back for a new series, complete with his trusty companion Elgar, his pipe and his never ending capacity for scrimping and scraping at whatever scraps his agent, Ping, can offer him to keep body, mind and cat together.
Ed Reardon ..... Christopher Douglas
Jaz Milvain ..... Philip Jackson
Cliff ..... Geoff McGivern
Ray ..... Simon Greenall
Ping ..... Barunka O'Shaughnessy
Felix ..... John Fortune
Ben Herbert ..... Tom Price
Pearl ..... Rita May
Olive ..... Stephanie Cole
Stan ..... Geoffrey Whitehead
Functionary ..... Henry Devas
Written by Andrew Nickolds and Christopher Douglas
Produced by Dawn Ellis
Inevitably Ed finds himself once more battling through the week encountering the numerous 12-year olds who run the media; teaching the lively bunch of pensioners who can teach him a thing or two about money making schemes, frugal living and having a good time thank you very much, and regular run-ins with the rather successful Jaz Milvane, director of Ed's only ever book-to-screen adaptation.
As we renew our acquaintance with Ed austerity has hit hard. Jaz is eating at austerity themed restaurants, Ping is drawing in stocking seams with magic marker and Ed is picking blackberries from the canal towpath for his breakfast. However, things may be looking up as episode 1 sees Ed working with the most disturbingly fresh and mesmerizingly compelling voice of his generation, Ben Herbert. Ben has a three book deal and no time to write them all, so Ed has been drafted in to help him write one of the books - 'How to Survive With Like No Cash'. Surely a match made in heaven.
SUN 08:00 Meet the Huggetts (b04mc868)
All at Sea
With the factory outing looming, Joe and Ethel Huggett find themselves in a mess over money.
Stars Jack Warner and Kathleen Harrison.
Popular working-class family, the Huggetts first hit the cinema screen with a series of Gainsborough films between 1947 and 1949. Their subsequent BBC radio series ran from 1953 to 1962.
Joe ...... Jack Warner
Ethel ...... Kathleen Harrison
Jane ...... Vera Day
Bobby ...... Anthony Green
Fred Stebbings ...... Charles Leno
Mrs Stebbings ...... Beatrice Varley
Mr Campbell ...... Kenneth Connor
Written by Eddie Maguire.
Producer: Peter Eton
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in August 1954.
SUN 08:30 Stop Messing About! (b00cft0x)
Series 1
Episode 10
Happy campers on holiday - and Tarzan swings in with Jane and Cheetah.
Stars Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Joan Sims and announcer, Douglas Smith.
After the unexpected death of Kenneth Horne in 1969, plans for the next series of Round The Horne were axed. Instead - using an old catchphrase of Kenneth Williams as a series title - Kenneth joined Hugh Paddick to continue the comedy tradition and was also reunited with his "Carry On" film co-star Joan Sims.
Written by Johnnie Mortimer, Brian Cooke and Myles Rudge
With the Max Harris Group.
Producer: John Simmonds
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in June 1969.
SUN 09:00 Pamela Brown - The Swish of the Curtain (b00r35y0)
Episode 2
The Bishop takes the children of the Blue Doors Theatre Company to Stratford. Pamela Brown's adventure stars Caroline Harker.
SUN 09:30 Rosemary Sutcliff - The Eagle of the Ninth (b00shkbx)
Episode 2
As Marcus heads north with Esca, clues appear to the missing Eagle's whereabouts. Stars Tom Smith and Paul Morrow.
SUN 10:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b04mcf8k)
Nobel Prize Winners
Peter Mansfield
Sue Lawley's castaway is the Nobel prize-winning physicist Sir Peter Mansfield. His work in magnetic resonance imaging more than 30 years ago led to the development of the MRI scanner, which has revolutionised the diagnosis of illness today.
He was born in London before the Second World War and as a boy, remembers the first Doodlebug attack on the capital. Watching the flying bombs gave him an interest in rocket propulsion which was to lead to a life-long career in science. The son of a gas-fitter, he left school without O levels at the age of 15. His school careers' officer had laughed at his ambition to be a scientist and fixed him up with a job as a printer. He put himself through night school, and went on to graduate with a first class degree in physics.
The first MRI scan was performed using him as the guinea-pig and with next-of-kin on hand because of the risks involved. His pioneering research was carried out at the University of Nottingham where he became Emeritus Professor of Physics. In 2003 he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine at the age of 70.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2006.
SUN 10:45 HE Bates - Three Country Stories (b007jyd8)
Series 2
Great Uncle Crow
A young boy gets to know his eccentric relative with a fondness for moorhen eggs, cress and 'neck oil'. Read by David Neal.
SUN 11:00 Garrison Keillor's Radio Show (b01bl28v)
Series 7
Episode 16
From Minnesota, the American funny man welcomes string maestro Sam Bush, plus the latest news from Lake Wobegon. From 2011.
SUN 12:00 Mike Walker - Scumdog Millionaires Omnibus (b04mc1xx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 13:10 Inheritance Tracks (b04kfx27)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:10 today]
SUN 13:15 Student Bibles (b0075nwl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]
SUN 13:30 Horace Walpole - The Castle of Otranto (b04mcf8m)
When Prince Manfred's only son is killed on the morning of his wedding, he decides to marry the bride himself - but the castle ghost seems to be standing in his way.
Horace Walpole's 1764 novel is a dark tale of duplicity and dynastic rivalry in medieval Italy. It's said to be the first ever gothic novel, becoming extremely popular in the 18th and 19th centuries - and the inspiration to authors like Ann Radcliffe, Bram Stoker and Edgar Allan Poe.
Starring David Burke as Father Jerome, Sylvestra Le Touzel as Princess Isabella, Gerard Murphy as Prince Manfred, Alphonsia Emmanuel as Princess Hippolita, Susannah Corbett as Princess Matilda and Patrick Robinson as Theodore.
Dramatised by Michelene Wandor.
Original music by Andy Roberts.
Director Chris Wallace
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1996.
SUN 15:00 Meet the Huggetts (b04mc868)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 15:30 Stop Messing About! (b00cft0x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SUN 16:00 Mel's Mix: The Best of The 4 O'Clock Show (b04mcf8p)
Playground games, animal orchestras and being a blind tourist
Mel Giedroyc picks the best of this week's shows including what it's like to be a blind tourist in San Francisco and the joy of a good playground game.
SUN 17:00 Pamela Brown - The Swish of the Curtain (b00r35y0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SUN 17:30 Rosemary Sutcliff - The Eagle of the Ninth (b00shkbx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
SUN 18:00 Doctor Who (b01pwcys)
Lucie Miller
After the Dalek Invasion of Earth - a rematch...
Lucie Miller (Sheridan Smith) has had a troubled relationship with the Doctor (Paul McGann). Forced into the TARDIS by the Time Lords, parting company on bad terms, they seemed to patch up their differences. Lucie wound up travelling the world with the Doctor's great-grandson Alex in the 22nd century.
However, it isn't long before the Doctor is needed again - the Daleks return for a second attempt after he stopped them invading Earth in his first body. This time, it looks like they might succeed, and the Doctor is nowhere to be seen. What's more, it seems another old foe is part of the Daleks' plans - and so is an old friend.
As the odds stack up against Lucie and her human allies, the Doctor finally comes to her aid - but will he get there in time? When he does, will it ultimately matter?
First in a two-part story, this is a full-cast audio drama.
SUN 19:00 Garrison Keillor's Radio Show (b01bl28v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 20:00 Meet the Huggetts (b04mc868)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 20:30 Stop Messing About! (b00cft0x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SUN 21:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b04mcf8k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SUN 21:45 HE Bates - Three Country Stories (b007jyd8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]
SUN 22:00 Ed Reardon's Week (b00x9237)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 Shedtown (b011znlc)
Series 1
Storm
A layer-cake of disaster threatens the creosoted community. And where's Colin?
Cast:
Barry ...... Tony Pitts
Jimmy & Johnny ...... Kevin Eldon
Colin ....... Johnny Vegas
Diane ...... Suranne Jones
Dave ....... Shaun Dooley
Eleanor ...... Ronni Ancona
Deborah Dearden ...... Emma Fryer
William ....... Adrian Manfredi
Carly ...... Jessica Knappett
Father Michael ...... James Quinn
Wes ......Warren Brown
Petshop Owner ...... Caron May
Narrator...Maxine Peake
Music......Paul Heaton
Written and created by Tony Pitts
Directed by Jim Poyser
Producer: Sally Harrison
A Woolyback Production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b04nz8b8)
The best in contemporary comedy. Tonight, Arthur Smith chats to Nish Kumar.
SUN 23:00 Newsjack (b04lxk40)
Series 11
Episode 5
Made for 4 Extra. The week's stories cobbled together in a scrapbook sketch show. Uninformed, up to the minute, down to the dregs. Presented by Romesh Ranganathan.
SUN 23:30 The Wilson Dixon Line (b00kr5y1)
Uncle Wilbur's Advice for Modern Living
Another chance to hear this affectionate tribute to the philosophy of country music. Cowboy philosopher Wilson Dixon shares his viewpoints on life, love and relationships through songs and anecdotes.
In the final episode, following his break up from Maureen, Wilson saddles up his horse Andrew and heads into the Colorado mountains to seek some guidance from his old Uncle Wilbour. What he gets instead is the the epic tale of "the man with no name", straight from the annals of the Wild West.
Wilson Dixon is the comic creation of Jesse Griffin and sidekick Snake Wizzelteats is performed by Jesse Budd.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 2009.


MONDAY 27 OCTOBER 2014

MON 00:00 Doctor Who (b01pwcys)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b04mcf8k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Sunday]
MON 01:45 HE Bates - Three Country Stories (b007jyd8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 on Sunday]
MON 02:00 Meet the Huggetts (b04mc868)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Stop Messing About! (b00cft0x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:00 Ed Reardon's Week (b00x9237)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:30 Horace Walpole - The Castle of Otranto (b04mcf8m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:30 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Pamela Brown - The Swish of the Curtain (b00r35y0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 Rosemary Sutcliff - The Eagle of the Ninth (b00shkbx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jprs)
Series 1
A Case of Making Good
A rich woman receives a mysterious parcel of tenners and the past unfolds like a flower. Can redundant pitman turned discrete private investigator, Stephen J Blackburn solve the case?
One of five cases for the ex-pitman turned investigator and his government scheme-funded assistant Tracey. Set in a South Yorkshire town that's seen better days.
Starring Fine Time Fontayne as Stephen J Blackburn, Judy Flynn as Tracey Duggan.
With Rita May, Vanessa Rosenthal, Lorraine Peters, Lucia Laratonda and Robin Polley.
Scripted by Ian McMillan, Martyn Wiley and Dave Sheasby
Directed for BBC North East by Dave Sheasby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1989.
MON 06:30 A Guided Tour of the Castle of Otranto (b00rb29b)
Rory McGrath explores the origins of gothic horror, manifest in the first ever novel about a haunted castle, The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole.
The book, published in 1764, became the first gothic novel and heralded the start of a new literary genre.
From 2010.
MON 07:00 Elephants to Catch Eels (b00vgb3v)
Series 2
Charity
It's Jesters' Relief Week in Drumlin Bay and Tamsyn is a bit tired of raising cash for the people of Devon just because their clotted cream is slightly less clotted than the Cornish equivalent.
It's 1793 and in the small Cornish village of Drumlin Bay, heroic smuggler Tamsyn Trelawny is still running rings around the customs men, assisted by her drunken father Jago.
Written by Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain.
Starring Sheridan Smith as Tamsyn Trelawny, John Bowe as Jago Trelawny, Cameron Stewart as Major Thomas Falconer, Andrew McGibbon as Captain Marriot, Martin Hyder as Squire Bascombe, Mark Felgate as Dewey and Mark Perry as Smeldof.
Producer: Jan Ravens.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2004.
MON 07:30 The Museum of Curiosity (b04lpxxf)
Series 7
Episode 3
The Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd welcomes his latest curator Phill Jupitus.
With author and journalist Will Storr, physicist and comedian Lieven Scheire and actor and presenter Sandi Toksvig.
The Museum's Steering Committee discusses:
* Why the alphabet sparked the suppression of women
* Why tiny wasps are claimed to spread diseases
* Why parasitic insects battle each other
Researchers: James Harkin and Stevyn Colgan of QI.
Producers: Richard Turner and Dan Schreiber
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
MON 08:00 Marriage Lines (b04mh4km)
Series 1
The Good Neighbours
George and Kate step in when they overhear their neighbours rowing.
Starring Richard Briers as George and Prunella Scales as Kate.
Richard Waring’s sitcom based on the mutual love and mistrust of two newlyweds. Originating on BBC TV, it ran between 1963-65 and was adapted in two series for BBC radio due to its popularity.
George ...... Richard Briers
Kate ...... Prunella Scales
Laura ...... Heather Chasen
Peter ...... Geoffrey Matthews
Mr Reynolds ...... Leon Thau
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in May 1965.
MON 08:30 The Navy Lark (b007k088)
Series 1
The Whittlesea Bay Yacht Regatta
When HMS Troutbridge escorts the Admiral to a regatta, Pertwee sees a chance to cash in.
Starring Leslie Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Dennis Price as Number One, Richard Caldicot as Commander Povey, Heather Chasen as Heather, Ronnie Barker as AS Johnson, Michael Bates as Ginger and Tenniel Evans as the Admiral.
The Navy Lark ran for an impressive thirteen series on BBC Radio between 1959 and 1976.
Scripted by Lawrie Wyman.
Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in June 1959.
MON 09:00 Whispers (b007k3jf)
Series 1
Episode 6
Swearing, cocaine, wine throwing and flagellation are just some of the items on Gyles Brandreth’s agenda.
Regular team captains, biographer Anthony Holden, and writer Stella Duffy, are joined by the BBC's former royal correspondent Jennie Bond and entertainer Geoffrey Durham.
Producer: Elizabeth Freestone
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2003.
MON 09:30 Another Case of Milton Jones (b00ft1cd)
Series 3
Health Guru
Milton Jones bestrides the globe as an expert in his field, with no ability whatsoever.
Milton is a health and diet guru who plans to take over the world by means of a walnut shell and nettle face scrub.
With Tom Goodman-Hill, Ingrid Oliver, Ben Willbond.
MON 10:00 Marcy Kahan - Death at the Desert Inn (b00t6v8d)
$300,000 dollars are left in a satchel in Noel Coward's Las Vegas suite, and so he sets off again on his unexpected posthumous career as a detective.
Marcy Kahan's crime thriller stars Malcolm Sinclair as Noel Coward, Eleanor Bron as Lorn Lorraine. Tam Williams as Cole Lesley, Belinda Lang as Judy Garland and Jake Broder as Joe Glaser.
The Desert Inn, scene of one of his greatest cabaret triumphs, is the setting for "a highly probable Noel Coward Murder Mystery", complete with Judy Garland, a showgirl, a Broadway agent, an unlikely croupier, a US Congressman and Coward's act, with half of Hollywood in the audience.
Another crime to be solved with the Master's favourite weapon - wit.
Director: Ned Chaillet
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
MON 11:00 Heidi Amsinck - Danish Noir (b01hmwjl)
Last Train to Helsingor
In these three specially-commissioned tales by Heidi Amsinck, Denmark is a place of twilight and shadows: a mysterious place where strange and often dark things happen. In 'Last Train to Helsingor' Henrik Borg has done well for himself; he drive a Mercedes to and from work though prefers the train from Copenhagen to Helsingor, because it is predictable.
But things start to go wrong when Borg falls asleep, and wakes up in a mysterious, deserted railway siding.
Heidi Amsinck, a writer and journalist born in Copenhagen, has covered Britain for the Danish press since 1992. Heidi has written numerous short stories including The Chanterelles of Ostvig (2008), Conning Mrs Vinterberg (2007) and Detained (2005), all of which were produced by Sweet Talk for BBC Radio 4.
Written by Heidi Amsinck
Read by Tim McInnerny
Producer: Ros Ward
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 11:15 Loose Ends (b04m9z8r)
Gareth Thomas, Neil Pearson, Miranda Sawyer, Amma Asante, John Moloney, Old Crow Medicine Show, My Brightest Diamond
Actor Neil Pearson co-produces 5 episodes of comedy classic Hancock's Half Hour; all-time Rugby hero Gareth Thomas tells the story through his memoirs of how he came out as gay...comedian John Moloney talks to Miranda Sawyer about this year's stellar line-up for the annual ADCAF charity event and film writer and director Amma Asante talks to Clive about her international hit film 'Belle'. With music from Old Crow Medicine Show and My Brightest Diamond.
Producer: Sukey Firth.
MON 12:00 Marriage Lines (b04mh4km)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 The Navy Lark (b007k088)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jprs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:30 A Guided Tour of the Castle of Otranto (b00rb29b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b00rzw38)
Naomi Alderman - The Lessons
The Last Good Night and a Surprise
Rory Kinnear reads the Orange New Writer's Award Winner, Naomi Alderman's, second novel, 'The Lessons', a story of ambition, friendship, betrayal and desire. Today: The last good night. As the heady Oxford existence comes to a golden close, Mark has one last surprise in store for James.
Reader Rory Kinnear
Abridger Sally Marmion
Producer Di Speirs
The Lessons is the second novel from Naomi Alderman, winner of the Orange New Writer's Award and Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year. Set among the dreaming spires of Oxford, it follows the progress of a gilded group of under-graduates drawn together by their dazzling and mercurial fellow student Mark Winters. Fuelled by his trust-fund and resident in his Georgian mansion, they live a charmed life of learning and parties and love-affairs. But university is no grounding for real life and none of the friends will be prepared, some years later, when tragedy strikes.
The Lessons is a novel about friendship, ambition, betrayal and desire, and the fact that only life can teach the lessons you really need to learn.
Naomi Alderman won the Orange New Writers Award for her first novel Disobedience and has subsequently been named as the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year. She is a graduate of Lincoln College, Oxford.
Rory Kinnear, fresh from playing Angelo at the Almeida and about to play Hamlet at the National Theatre studied at Balliol College, Oxford and reads his first Book at Bedtime.
MON 14:15 Chinese in Britain (b0079mby)
The First Chinese VIPs
Anna Chen sets out to uncover the early history of the Chinese who came to Britain before the takeaway boom of the 1960s.
1/10. The First Chinese VIPs
Shen Fu Tsong was a Christian convert from Nanking whose portrait was commissioned by King James II and hung in his bedchamber. John Anthony, a go-between for Chinese sailors and the East India Company, became the first Chinese to be naturalised as a British citizen in 1805.
From 2007.
Producer: Mukti Jain Campion
A Culture Wise Production.
MON 14:30 Alan Plater - Abandoned Projects (b009qx1x)
Gone But Not Forgotten
The playwright recounts his career through some amazing stories he never completed. With Maureen Lipman and Brian Blessed.
MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b00hnn57)
Martin Gayford - Constable in Love
Episode 1
Passion, money and art - the story of John Constable and his pursuit of the love of his life. Read by Anton Lesser.
MON 15:00 Marcy Kahan - Death at the Desert Inn (b00t6v8d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:00 The 4 O'Clock Show (b04mlq8d)
Elephants, moss and Jamie Rix
Mel Giedroyc gets the giggles with hilarious children's writer Jamie Rix, and introduces the first part of his collection of Ghostly Tales for Ghastly Kids.
MON 17:00 Second Thoughts (b00k89mf)
Series 3
Foreign Exchange
With his sister Hannah away at university, why is Faith's son Joe so keen to have an Italian student to stay with them?
Sitcom about the battles of divorcees Bill and Faith beginning married life, whilst balancing the demands of his ex-wife, Liza and her teenage children, Hannah and Joe.
Stars Lynda Bellingham as Faith, James Bolam as Bill, Emma Gregory as Hannah, Mark Denham as Joe and Danielle Allan as Gina.
Series three of four inspired by the real lives of its writers, husband and wife Jan Etherington and Gavin Petrie.
A TV version made by LWT for ITV appeared in 1991 and ran for four series, with a spin-off 'Faith in the Future'.
Producer: Paul Schlesinger
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1991.
MON 17:30 Elephants to Catch Eels (b00vgb3v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 18:00 Whispers (b007k3jf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b04mh70w)
Jim Crace and Lorelei King
Tom Sutcliffe, Jim Crace and Lorelei King discuss books by short story writer Grace Paley, Gerald Kersh and Tim Parks. From 1998.
The Collected Stories - Grace Paley
Publisher : Virago
Night and the City - Gerald Kersh
Publisher : Brianiac Books
Goodness - Tim Parks
Publisher : Vintage.
MON 19:00 Marriage Lines (b04mh4km)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 The Navy Lark (b007k088)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jprs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:30 A Guided Tour of the Castle of Otranto (b00rb29b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 Heidi Amsinck - Danish Noir (b01hmwjl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:15 Loose Ends (b04m9z8r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
MON 22:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b04lpxxf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:30 Another Case of Milton Jones (b00ft1cd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b04nz8h0)
The best in contemporary comedy. Tonight, Tiffany Stevenson chats to Katherine Ryan.
MON 23:00 The News Quiz Extra (b04mh8nw)
Series 12
Episode 1
Made for 4 Extra. Satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Sandi Toksvig with regular guest Jeremy Hardy. Plus special guests Sarah Millican and Sara Pascoe.
MON 23:45 Quando, Quando, Quando (b007xry7)
Big Head
The Quando brothers' hair salon is thrown into pandemonium when the President of Uruguay arrives for his annual trim. No one must mention his enormous head...
Brothers Rene, Carlo and Charlie Quando chop, snip and crimp their lucky clients into shape at London's finest hair salon.
Six-part comedy written and performed by Rainer Hersch and Mark Maie. With Stephen Greif and Catherine Tate.
Producer: Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1999.


TUESDAY 28 OCTOBER 2014

TUE 00:00 Book at Bedtime (b00rzw38)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:15 Chinese in Britain (b0079mby)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 Alan Plater - Abandoned Projects (b009qx1x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 00:45 Book of the Week (b00hnn57)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Whispers (b007k3jf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 A Good Read (b04mh70w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jprs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 A Guided Tour of the Castle of Otranto (b00rb29b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Marcy Kahan - Death at the Desert Inn (b00t6v8d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Heidi Amsinck - Danish Noir (b01hmwjl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:15 Loose Ends (b04m9z8r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Second Thoughts (b00k89mf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 Elephants to Catch Eels (b00vgb3v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jps6)
Series 1
A Case of Parma Violets
Trailing a distinctive perfume, Betty Shuttleworth turns to private investigator Stephen J Blackburn when she suspects her husband's having an affair...
One of five cases for the ex-pitman turned investigator and his government scheme-funded assistant Tracey. Set in a South Yorkshire town that's seen better days.
Starring Fine Time Fontayne as Stephen J Blackburn, Judy Flynn as Tracey Duggan.
With Rita May, Christine Cox, Gerry Kersey and Anne Rye.
Scripted by Ian McMillan, Martyn Wiley and Dave Sheasby
Directed for BBC North East by Dave Sheasby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1989.
TUE 06:30 On the Road (b007m9xt)
4 Extra Debut. Greg Proops celebrates Jack Kerouac's classic novel, taking a jazz-infused drive through America. With Gore Vidal. From June 2007.
TUE 07:00 Babblewick Hall (b04mhc03)
Series 2
Episode 1
Squire Fenton Babblewick is convinced that he is a composer of genius. His servants are less sure.
Starring Nicholas Le Prevost and Forbes Masson.
Series two of Scott Cherry’s sitcom set in the 18th-century. Fenton Babblewick is still the squire of his inherited estate.
Nicholas Le Provost ...... Squire Fenton Babblewick
Molly ...... Maggie McCarthy
Augustus Snipe ...... Forbes Masson
Jack ...... Dave Hill
Barney ...... Benedict Sandiford.
Gluck ...... Michael Troughton.
Mrs Maddison ...... Sara Coward
Mr Maddison ...... John Baddeley.
Music by Paul Mottra.
Producer: Jon Rolph
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1998.
TUE 07:30 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (b04lq2lx)
Series 1
Health and Beauty
Multi-award winning comic Mark Watson attempts to answer the big questions and make sense of life.
Written and performed by Mark Watson, Tim Key and Tom Basden as they tackle academic and abstract topics.
This time Mark looks at "Health & Beauty". Our world is full of people telling us how to be healthier and more attractive. But how can we tell if we are well, both mentally and physically? Does living more healthily lead to better mental health, or not so much because you have to eat stuff like cabbage and you wish you were dead? At the same time many people claim to be beautiful, but does beauty really matter or is it, as the popular saying goes, in the eye of the beholder?
Why is it so hard to get to the bottom of what will make us look and feel good, and will this eternal quest ever end?
Producer: Lianne Coop
An Impatient production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in October 2014.
TUE 08:00 The Goon Show (b007jv86)
The White Neddie Trade
Fearless Neddie Seagoon launches a career as a nude piano dancer with a difference
Groundbreaking, surreal BBC radio comedy written by Larry Stephens and Maurice Wiltshire.
Starring:
Peter Sellers
Harry Secombe
Spike Milligan
First billed as Crazy People, ten series of The Goon Show were recorded between 1951 and 1960, but sadly many of the earliest shows weren’t kept in the archive.
With the Ray Ellington Quartet and Max Geldray.
Orchestra conducted by Wally Stott.
Announcer: Wallace Greenslade
Producer: Charles Chilton
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in February 1958.
TUE 08:30 Doctor at Large (b009364g)
The SS Lotus
Simon Sparrow soon realises that life as a ship's doctor is far from plain sailing.
The misadventures of newly qualified doctor, Simon Sparrow - adapted for radio by Ray Cooney from Richard Gordon's 'Doctor at Large' published in 1955.
Starring Richard Briers as Simon Sparrow, Geoffrey Sumner as Sir Lancelot Spratt, Ray Cooney as Jock Hornby, Edward Cast as Taffy Evans and Peter Jones as Easter.
Producer: David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1969.
TUE 09:00 The News Quiz Extra (b04mh8nw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:45 Quando, Quando, Quando (b007xry7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:45 on Monday]
TUE 10:00 Ann Radcliffe - The Mysteries of Udolpho (b04mhk06)
Episode 1
It's 1584. A stay in a mysterious chateau impacts on the life of young Emily St Aubert.
Starring Deborah Berlin as Emily and Robert Glenister as Valancourt.
Ann Radcliffe's fourth novel 'The Mysteries of Udolpho' was published 1794. It follows the fortunes of Emily St Aubert who has to endure the death of her father, supernatural terrors in a gloomy castle and the machinations of an Italian brigand. This quintessential Gothic novel, along with Radcliffe's 'The Romance of the Forest' plays a prominent role in Jane Austen's 'Northanger Abbey'.
Dramatised by Catherine Czerkawska. Directed by David Blount.
TUE 11:00 Heidi Amsinck - Danish Noir (b01hw4lx)
The Light from Dead Stars
In these three specially-commissioned tales by Heidi Amsinck, Denmark is a place of twilight and shadows: a mysterious place where strange and often dark things happen.
Detective Viggo Jensen retires today. For the last 28 years he has asked himself the question: who killed Leif Heinemann? A journalist has described this case as the one significant failure of his career. But as he clears his desk, Viggo receives a mysterious phone call which gives him a new lead.
Written by Heidi Amsinck
Read by Tim McInnerny
Producer: Ros Ward
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 11:15 Heathcote Williams - Hancock's Last Half Hour (b01glrp3)
An imagining of the comedy legend alone in a Sydney hotel room on the day he died, with a book of newspaper cuttings, a telephone and a bottle of vodka for company. In a tour de force performance Richard Briers plays his great comedy hero, Tony Hancock, looking back over the highs and lows of his career. Heathcote Williams's play reveals a comedy genius, tormented by his own desire to improve himself. A desire which overwhelmed him, when he tragically took his own life in June 1968.
Produced by Ned Chaillet for BBC Radio 3 in 1988.
TUE 12:00 The Goon Show (b007jv86)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 Doctor at Large (b009364g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jps6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 On the Road (b007m9xt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b00rzw2w)
Naomi Alderman - The Lessons
A Wedding
Rory Kinnear reads the Orange New Writer's Award Winner, Naomi Alderman's, second novel, 'The Lessons', a story of ambition, friendship, betrayal and desire. Today: For James and Jess, Franny and Simon real life begins, but for Mark there is a new fantasy to play out.
Reader Rory Kinnear
Abridger Sally Marmion
Producer Di Speirs
The Lessons is the second novel from Naomi Alderman, winner of the Orange New Writer's Award and Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year. Set among the dreaming spires of Oxford, it follows the progress of a gilded group of under-graduates drawn together by their dazzling and mercurial fellow student Mark Winters. Fuelled by his trust-fund and resident in his Georgian mansion, they live a charmed life of learning and parties and love-affairs. But university is no grounding for real life and none of the friends will be prepared, some years later, when tragedy strikes.
The Lessons is a novel about friendship, ambition, betrayal and desire, and the fact that only life can teach the lessons you really need to learn.
Naomi Alderman won the Orange New Writers Award for her first novel Disobedience and has subsequently been named as the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year. She is a graduate of Lincoln College, Oxford.
Rory Kinnear, fresh from playing Angelo at the Almeida and about to play Hamlet at the National Theatre studied at Balliol College, Oxford and reads his first Book at Bedtime.
TUE 14:15 Chinese in Britain (b0079n8k)
The Creation of Chinatown
Anna Chen sets out to uncover the early history of the Chinese who came to Britain before the takeaway boom of the 1960s.
2/10. The Creation of Chinatown
As the Chinese settlement in ports such as London and Liverpool grew in the early 20th Century, so did the myths and lurid fantasies. Anna investigates how the small Limehouse Chinese community in London became the subject of countless books, songs, films and hysterical headlines during the 1920s.
From 2007.
Producer: Mukti Jain Campion
A Culture Wise Production.
TUE 14:30 Alan Plater - Abandoned Projects (b009rp4x)
Alternative Comedy
The playwright recalls entertaining the idea of being a comic, and some unusual student shows. With Christian Rodska.
TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b00hslbl)
Martin Gayford - Constable in Love
Episode 2
Anton Lesser reads Martin Gayford's account of the early career of John Constable and his long battle to win the hand of his future wife, Maria Bicknell, based on correspondence between the pair.
Constable first met Maria Bicknell, the daughter of a wealthy lawyer, in the Suffolk village of East Bergholt when he was 24 and she was 12. Nine years later they began courting.
TUE 15:00 Ann Radcliffe - The Mysteries of Udolpho (b04mhk06)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 The 4 O'Clock Show (b04nd3n3)
Elephants, spiders and Dan Castellaneta
Mel Giedroyc is in finger-licking good form with a history of the doughnut, plus there's the second of our Ghostly Tales for Ghastly Kids.
TUE 17:00 The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket (b04mhkrs)
Series 1
Marigold's Wedding
A wedding provides ample opportunity for some trademark gossip.
Starring Dame Hilda Bracket and her lifelong companion Dr Evadne Hinge.
The dear ladies reside in the Suffolk village of Stackton Tressel. This was the genteel setting for three Radio 4 series between 1977 and 1979, with further spin-off seasons on Radio 2 until 1990. In the early 1980s, they expanded over to BBC TV with the series Dear Ladies.
Dame Hilda Bracket ...... George Logan
Dr Evadne Hinge ...... Patrick Fyffe
Violet ...... Daphne Oxenford
Leonard ...... Joe Black
Scripted by Mike Craig, Lawrie Kinsley and Ron McDonnell.
Producer: James Casey
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1977.
TUE 17:30 Babblewick Hall (b04mhc03)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 18:00 Act Your Age (b0100gr6)
Series 3
Episode 3
Simon Mayo hosts the three-way battle between the comedy generations to find out which is the funniest.
Will it be the Up-and-Comers, the Current Crop or the Old Guard who will be crowned, for one week at least, as the Golden Age of Comedy?
Holly Walsh is joined by Sean Walsh, Lucy Porter teams up with Hal Cruttenden and Tom O'Connor is paired with Dave Spikey.
Devised and produced by Ashley Blaker and Bill Matthews.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2011.
TUE 18:30 The Tingle Factor (b04mhkrv)
Michael Bentine
The comic, actor and original Goon tells Robin Ray why certain tracks have the power to send tingles down his spine. From September 1989.
TUE 19:00 The Goon Show (b007jv86)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 Doctor at Large (b009364g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jps6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 On the Road (b007m9xt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Heidi Amsinck - Danish Noir (b01hw4lx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 Heathcote Williams - Hancock's Last Half Hour (b01glrp3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (b04lq2lx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 Births, Deaths and Marriages (b01jrqr1)
Series 1
Episode 4
In this episode, the team are horrified that the media have been invited to one of Malcolm's citizenship ceremonies, Anita's got problems with childcare and Luke's having a 'quarter life' crisis.
Births, Deaths and Marriages is a new sitcom set in a Local Authority Register Office where the staff deal with the three greatest events in anybody's life.
Written by David Schneider (The Day Today, I'm Alan Partridge), he stars as chief registrar Malcolm Fox who is a stickler for rules and would be willing to interrupt any wedding service if the width of the bride infringes health and safety. He's single but why does he need to be married? He's married thousands of women.
Alongside him are rival and divorcee Lorna who has been parachuted in from Car Parks to drag the office (and Malcolm) into the 21st century. To her, marriage isn't just about love and romance, it's got to be about making a profit in our new age of austerity.
There's also the ever spiky Mary, geeky Luke who's worried he'll end up like Malcolm one day, and ditzy Anita who may get her words and names mixed up occasionally but, as the only parent in the office, is a mother to them all.
Cast:
Malcolm ...... David Schneider
Lorna ....... Sarah Hadland
Anita ........ Sandy McDade
Luke ....... Russell Tovey
Mary ....... Sally Bretton
Mr. Arnold/Peter Stephenson ...... Andrew Brooke
Bereaved woman/New Citizen/Mum ...... Jane Whittenshaw
Producer: Simon Jacobs
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 23:00 The Mel and Sue Thing (b00769tt)
Episode 2
More comedy mayhem starring Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.
Continuing the adventures of spoilt Harriet and her pushy aunt in the second part of Jane Austen's lost novella, Fanny Adams
Meet the grumpy French au pairs, plus a special preview performance of the Ukranian entry for next year's Eurovision Song Contest.
With Paul Chahidi
Written by Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.
Producer: Elizabeth Freestone.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2002.
TUE 23:30 Masala FM (b007zjm8)
Episode 4
The station's only attracting Z-list Asian celebrities, but then a top member of 'royalty' phones in...
Six-part sitcom written by Meera Syal
Starring Sanjeev Bhaskar, Nitin Sawheny, Meera Syal and Nina Wadia.
Music by Nitin Sawhney.
Producer: Liz Anstee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1996.


WEDNESDAY 29 OCTOBER 2014

WED 00:00 Book at Bedtime (b00rzw2w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:15 Chinese in Britain (b0079n8k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 Alan Plater - Abandoned Projects (b009rp4x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 00:45 Book of the Week (b00hslbl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Act Your Age (b0100gr6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 The Tingle Factor (b04mhkrv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jps6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 On the Road (b007m9xt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Ann Radcliffe - The Mysteries of Udolpho (b04mhk06)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Heidi Amsinck - Danish Noir (b01hw4lx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:15 Heathcote Williams - Hancock's Last Half Hour (b01glrp3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket (b04mhkrs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 Babblewick Hall (b04mhc03)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jpsn)
Series 1
A Case of Brotherly Love
Private investigator Stephen J Blackburn hunts for a Canadian's long-lost brother, decades after their cruel separation....
One of five cases for the ex-pitman turned investigator and his government scheme-funded assistant Tracey. Set in a South Yorkshire town that's seen better days.
Starring Fine Time Fontayne as Stephen J Blackburn, Judy Flynn as Tracey Duggan.
With John Graham Davies, Norman Mills, Ray Ashcroft and Bill Rodgers.
Scripted by Ian McMillan, Martyn Wiley and Dave Sheasby
Directed for BBC North East by Dave Sheasby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1989.
WED 06:30 The Life of the Secret Gardener (b0076xrj)
4 Extra Debut. Children's writer Anne Fine investigates the complex life of Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of The Secret Garden. From April 2006.
WED 07:00 Change at Oglethorpe (b007jzwk)
The Thin Controller
David Clare, Oglethorpe’s new Station Master, has got off to a bad start - falling through the cafe window, being shot at and attacked by a prize ferret - but things look likely to get a lot worse when he tries to sack Rocket...
Peter Morfoot's railway sitcom stars Peter Davison and Michael Williams.
David ...... Peter Davison
Rocket ...... Michael Williams
June ...... Rosemary Martin
Points ...... Phillippa Wilson
Hattie ...... Madge Hindle
Sodd ...... Chris Emmett
Other parts played by Tessa Worsley, John Hartley and Jonathan Keeble.
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in December 1995.
WED 07:30 In and Out of the Kitchen (b01q8l39)
Series 2
Valentine's Day
Tradition in the Trench/MacIlveny household dictates that Valentine's Day is the one day of the year when Damien is not allowed in the kitchen and Anthony can be left alone to cook a special meal to celebrate the occasion... much to Damien's chagrin.
Meanwhile, Damien struggles to finish the links to a new series for Sky Arts all about the dietary habits of the great poets. And his dad has an unfortunate accident whilst walking the dog...
Written by Miles Jupp.
Damien Trench ...... Miles Jupp
Anthony MacIlveny ...... Justin Edwards
Damien's Mother ...... Selina Cadell
Builder ...... Ben Crowe
Mr Mullaney ...... Brendan Dempsey
Marion Duffett ...... Lesley Vickerage
Producer: Sam Michell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2013.
WED 08:00 The Burkiss Way (b007jrtv)
Series 4
Remember the Burkiss Way
It's the clash of the game shows! Jo Kendall, Chris Emmett, Fred Harris and Nigel Rees try to win the car.
Cult sketch comedy series which originally ran from 1976 to 1980.
Written by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick.
Producer: David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1979.
WED 08:30 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00rfqxx)
Series 3
Episode 1
Swinging London cockney-style - and some incredible ears. Sketches and songs with John Cleese, Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor, David Hatch and Jo Kendall. Music from Dave Lee and his band.
Now fully restored for repeat on BBC Radio 4 Extra.
Produced by Humphrey Barclay.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in March 1966.
WED 09:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b00s2w3d)
Series 5
Episode 5
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
Tony Hawks, Arthur Smith, Phill Jupitus and Catherine Tate are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as ostriches, toast, spectacles and the colour red.
The show is devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith, the team behind Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
Producer - Jon Naismith.
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 09:30 Legal, Decent, Honest and Truthful (b007jsb8)
Series 3
Episode 5
Ken and Sandy both suffer marital problems, but at least they've won Pink Len's ad account. Stars Martin Jarvis. From November 1986.
WED 10:00 Ann Radcliffe - The Mysteries of Udolpho (b04mhn26)
Episode 2
Can Emily escape the clutches of the evil Montoni and learn her father's secret?
Starring Deborah Berlin as Emily, Keith Drinkel as Montoni and Robert Glenister as Valancourt.
Ann Radcliffe's fourth novel 'The Mysteries of Udolpho' was published 1794. It follows the fortunes of Emily St Aubert who has to endure the death of her father, supernatural terrors in a gloomy castle and the machinations of an Italian brigand. This quintessential Gothic novel, along with Radcliffe's 'The Romance of the Forest' plays a prominent role in Jane Austen's 'Northanger Abbey'.
Dramatised by Catherine Czerkawska. Directed by David Blount.
WED 11:00 Gunter Grass - The Tin Drum (b007jls2)
Episode 1
It's 1930 and Hitler's rise to power has begun. Three year old Oskar decides to stop growing and stop talking. Instead he plays his tin drum.
Phil Daniels stars as Oskar alongside Kenneth Cranham and Lesley Manville in Mike Walker's two-part dramatisation of Gunter Grass's dark and intriguing story.
Written in 1959, The Tin Drum is a modern classic of post-Second World War literature, telling the story of the Third Reich's decline and fall from a most particular perspective - that of a dwarf. It was published at a time when a generation of Germans was seeking to understand the war for the first time.
Oskar ...... Phil Daniels
Matzerath ...... Kenneth Cranham
Agnes ...... Lesley Manville
Bebra ...... David Collings
Jan ...... Stephen Critchlow
Greff ...... Paul Jenkins
Gretchen ...... Kristin Milward
Roswitha ...... Jane Whittenshaw
Marcus ...... John Turner
Fisherman ...... John Hartley
Midwife ...... Tessa Worsley
Gunter Grass was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1999 and the Swedish Academy praised him as a writer 'whose frolicsome black fables portray the forgotten face of history'.
Mike Walker's efforts won him the Writer's Award for Best Dramatisation.
Producer: Peter Kavanagh
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1996.
WED 12:00 The Burkiss Way (b007jrtv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:30 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00rfqxx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jpsn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:30 The Life of the Secret Gardener (b0076xrj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b00rzw2y)
Naomi Alderman - The Lessons
Forbidden Fruit
Rory Kinnear reads reading the Orange New Writer's Award Winner, Naomi Alderman's, second novel, 'The Lessons', a story of ambition, friendship, betrayal and desire. Today: Forbidden Fruit. Marriage is not the answer to Mark's unhappiness. Is James?
Reader Rory Kinnear
Abridger Sally Marmion
Producer Di Speirs
The Lessons is the second novel from Naomi Alderman, winner of the Orange New Writer's Award and Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year. Set among the dreaming spires of Oxford, it follows the progress of a gilded group of under-graduates drawn together by their dazzling and mercurial fellow student Mark Winters. Fuelled by his trust-fund and resident in his Georgian mansion, they live a charmed life of learning and parties and love-affairs. But university is no grounding for real life and none of the friends will be prepared, some years later, when tragedy strikes.
The Lessons is a novel about friendship, ambition, betrayal and desire, and the fact that only life can teach the lessons you really need to learn.
Naomi Alderman won the Orange New Writers Award for her first novel Disobedience and has subsequently been named as the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year. She is a graduate of Lincoln College, Oxford.
Rory Kinnear, fresh from playing Angelo at the Almeida and about to play Hamlet at the National Theatre studied at Balliol College, Oxford and reads his first Book at Bedtime.
WED 14:15 Chinese in Britain (b0079pcn)
From Ship to Shore
Anna Chen sets out to uncover the early history of the Chinese who came to Britain before the takeaway boom of the 1960s.
3/10. From Ship to Shore
Most Chinese people who came to Britain were seamen recruited to work aboard British merchant ships, a practice that dates back to the Napoleonic wars. Anna investigates what life was like for those sailors and their families who settled in the ports of Liverpool and London during the Second World War.
From 2007.
Producer: Mukti Jain Campion
A Culture Wise Production.
WED 14:30 Alan Plater - Abandoned Projects (b009rr73)
Wild Pigs of Thorngumbald
The playwright recalls how his career as an architect ended early, but not before an animal encounter. With Christian Rodska.
WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b00hsl9y)
Martin Gayford - Constable in Love
Episode 3
Anton Lesser reads Martin Gayford's account of the early career of John Constable and his long battle to win the hand of his future wife, Maria Bicknell, based on correspondence between the pair.
Lacking 'that necessary article - cash', the courtship between Maria and John was never going to be straightforward, particularly when Maria's family began to make their disapproval felt.
WED 15:00 Ann Radcliffe - The Mysteries of Udolpho (b04mhn26)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 16:00 The 4 O'Clock Show (b04mlqz2)
Marbles, Kate Adie and Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber
Mel Giedroyc gets a guide to mastering the game of marbles, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber discusses the revival of his musical Cats, and there's another Ghostly Tale for Ghastly Kids.
WED 17:00 For Better or for Worse (b00h4lng)
Series 1
Episode 6
Iris dreams of hearing Pavarotti in concert, so Bernard tries to get tickets. Stars Gorden Kaye and Su Pollard. From March 1993.
WED 17:30 Change at Oglethorpe (b007jzwk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 18:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b00s2w3d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 18:30 Off the Page (b0076d68)
Recovery
Writers Robert McCrum and Laura Thompson join poet Martin Newell and host Matthew Parris to talk about healing.
In each programme, Matthew Parris introduces a group of writers of fact and fiction. In the context of a discussion of one of the ideas and pre-occupations of our times, each presents a piece on this week's topic.
Produced by Jane Greenwood.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.
WED 19:00 The Burkiss Way (b007jrtv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00rfqxx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jpsn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:30 The Life of the Secret Gardener (b0076xrj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Gunter Grass - The Tin Drum (b007jls2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 22:00 In and Out of the Kitchen (b01q8l39)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 Down the Line (b012lm5p)
Series 3
The Elderly, Consumer Rights and the Countryside
Old people and consumer rights get the Gary Bellamy phone-in treatment. Stars Rhys Thomas and Simon Day. From January 2008.
WED 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b04nz8j9)
The best in contemporary comedy. Tonight, Tiffany Stevenson chats to Katherine Ryan.
WED 23:00 Arthur Smith's Balham Bash (b0101g5j)
Series 3
Episode 1
Arthur Smith presents music and comedy from his home in Balham, South London.
There's music in the kitchen, comedy in the front room and poetry on the landing.
Finding a decent sized performance space amongst the accumulated debris that is Arthur's life are Katie Melua, Roisin Conaty, Alun Cochrane and Nick Helm
Producer; Alison Vernon-Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2011.
WED 23:30 Buy Me Up TV (b009jcxh)
Episode 3
It's the comedy series inspired by every shopping channel you've ever seen and every product you've never wanted to buy.
Starring Justin Edwards, Colin Hoult, Katherine Jakeways, Ewen MacIntosh, Alex MacQueen and Greg Proops.
Special guest: Rich Hall
Producer: Lucy Armitaqe
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 2008.


THURSDAY 30 OCTOBER 2014

THU 00:00 Book at Bedtime (b00rzw2y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:15 Chinese in Britain (b0079pcn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 Alan Plater - Abandoned Projects (b009rr73)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 00:45 Book of the Week (b00hsl9y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b00s2w3d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Off the Page (b0076d68)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jpsn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 The Life of the Secret Gardener (b0076xrj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Ann Radcliffe - The Mysteries of Udolpho (b04mhn26)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Gunter Grass - The Tin Drum (b007jls2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 For Better or for Worse (b00h4lng)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Change at Oglethorpe (b007jzwk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jpt3)
Series 1
A Case of Plagiarism
Private investigator Stephen J Blackburn is called in when writer Hartley J Newton is convinced his TV script has been pinched...
One of five cases for the ex-pitman turned investigator and his government scheme-funded assistant Tracey. Set in a South Yorkshire town that's seen better days.
Starring Fine Time Fontayne as Stephen J Blackburn, Judy Flynn as Tracey Duggan.
With Gerry Kersey, Christine Cox, Peter Bell and James Tomlinson.
Scripted by Ian McMillan, Martyn Wiley and Dave Sheasby
Directed for BBC North East by Dave Sheasby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1989.
THU 06:30 Mirror, Mirror (b007rgnl)
The eyes might be the windows of the soul, but what happens when they see us from the outside? Nina Perry presents as various people react. From July 2007.
THU 07:00 Stockport, So Good They Named It Once (b01nht5b)
Series 2
Siege
Michael accepts the toughest night shift in Manchester. Will Jason's evening be any easier?
The lives of the Stockport-based Conroy family in series 2 of Damian Lanigan and Jim Poyser's comedy drama.
Starring Jason Done as Michael, Andrew Knott as Jason, Beverley Callard as Maureen, John Henshaw as Eddie, Jo-Anne Knowles as Debbie, Jack Smethurst as Jim and Damian Lanigan as Carl.
Music: Big George
Producer: Neil Mossey
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2000.
THU 07:30 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b04lss87)
Series 4
Episode 2
John Finnemore, the writer and star of Cabin Pressure, regular guest on The Now Show and popper-upper in things like Miranda, records a fourth series of his hit sketch show.
2/6: This second edition of the fourth series has a sketch that you'll never really own; the rudest of awakenings for one particular pet; and a look at the often ignored positive side of stereotyping.
The first series of John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme was described as "sparklingly clever" by The Daily Telegraph and "one of the most consistently funny sketch shows for quite some time" by The Guardian. The second series won Best Radio Comedy at both the Chortle and Comedy.co.uk awards, and was nominated for a Radio Academy award. The third series actually won a Radio Academy award.
In this fourth series, John has written more sketches, like the sketches from the other series. Not so much like them that they feel stale and repetitious; but on the other hand not so different that it feels like a misguided attempt to completely change the show. Quite like the old sketches, in other words, but about different things and with different jokes. (Although it's a pretty safe bet some of them will involve talking animals.)
Written by and starring ... John Finnemore
Also featuring ... Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Simon Kane, Lawry Lewin and Carrie Quinlan.
Original music by ... Susannah Pearse.
Producer ... Ed Morrish.
THU 08:00 It Sticks Out Half A Mile (b007k1sl)
The Bank Loan
1948: Will a visit to the pier in Frambourne-on-Sea pour cold water on the renovation plans?
A seaside saga of pier perpetuation starring John Le Mesurier, Ian Lavender and Bill Pertwee.
Arthur Wilson ...... John Le Mesurier
Frank Pike ...... Ian Lavender
Bert Hodges ...... Bill Pertwee
Miss Perkins ...... Vivienne Martin
Guthrie ...... Glynn Edwards
Mr Johnson ...... Michael Bilton
After a pilot episode was made in 1981, Arthur Lowe sadly died. So this 13-part series was revamped to feature the Dad's Army characters played by Pertwee and Lavender instead. The series was later adapted for ITV by Yorkshire TV.
Written by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles, based on the characters originally created by Jimmy Perry and David Croft.
Producer: Martin Fisher
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in November 1983.
THU 08:25 Inheritance Tracks (b04cb4nj)
Graham Fellows
Graham Fellows - aka John Shuttleworth - shares his Inheritance Tracks.
THU 08:30 Listen to Les (b007w2n4)
From 11/08/1974
Les Dawson presents the debut of comic discovery Justin Jest and a wonky piano sing-along.
With Daphne Oxenford and Colin Edwynn.
Music by Brian Fitzgerald.
Scripted and produced by James Casey.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in November 1974.
THU 09:00 Heresy (b017mv2b)
Series 8
Episode 1
The first in a new series of the programme that dares to commit heresy. Victoria Coren and her guests have fun exposing the wrong-headedness of received wisdom and challenging knee-jerk public reaction to events.
Her guests in the first programme are comedian Mark Steel, novelist Jessica Berens and actor and national treasure, Christopher Biggins.
Christopher Biggins gets on his high pantomime horse, arguing against the assertion that Panto is an outdated art form, Mark Steel comes out in support of public displays of drunkenness and former Tatler journalist Jessica Berens explains why people are totally misguided if they think it would be nice to live in a house like Downton Abbey.
Producer: Brian King
An Avalon Television production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 09:30 Alison and Maud (b007k244)
Series 1
Lame Ducks
How can Bed and Breakfast landlady Alison avoid a courtship display - without hastily inventing a husband?
Sue Limb's sitcom about events at the Abbeyfield Guest House in Norwich.
Denise Coffey and Miriam Margolyes star as sisters Alison and Maud.
Alison …. Denise Coffey
Maud …. Miriam Margolyes
Father …. Joss Ackland
Mr Mullett …. Chris Emmett
Leslie …. Nickolas Grace
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2002.
THU 10:00 Classic Serial (b00sf8l0)
Neglected Classics: The Snow Goose
Neglected Classic: The Snow Goose
by Paul Gallico
Dramatised by Nick Warburton
Introduced by Michael Morpurgo
A wounded bird brings together a disfigured artist and a young girl
and helps in a courageous act of bravery in World War II.
Philip Rhayader ..... Steven Mackintosh
Fritha ..... Georgia Groome
Mrs Farnes ..... Deborah Findlay
Storyteller ..... Sam Dale
Private Potton ..... Michael Shelford
Commander Brill-Oudener ..... Malcolm Tierney
Jock ..... David Seddon
Composer ..... Roger Goula
Director ..... Sally Avens
Steven Mackintosh stars in Paul Gallico's prize winning novella in our celebration of Neglected Classics.
When 'Open Book' asked various authors to champion a favourite negelected classic on the programme, Michael Morpurgo chose 'The Snow Goose'; perhaps no surprise, with his own story 'War Horse' depicting a friendship between a boy and his horse which takes them both into the horror of World War 1. 'The Snow Goose' won the listeners vote too and is now being dramatised for The Classic Serial.
THU 11:00 Gunter Grass - The Tin Drum (b007jlvd)
Episode 2
As the war rages, Oskar discovers sex, jazz and the black market. Will his mad drumming make him a star?
Phil Daniels stars as Oskar in the conclusion of Gunter Grass's dark and intriguing story.
Written in 1959, The Tin Drum is a modern classic of post-Second World War literature, telling the story of the Third Reich's decline and fall from a most particular perspective - that of a dwarf.
Oskar ...... Phil Daniels
Matzerath ...... Kenneth Cranham
Bebra ...... David Collings
Roswitha ...... Jane Whittenshaw
Zeidler ...... Geoffrey Whitehead
Dorothea ...... Patience Tomlinson
Lankes ...... Jonathan Keeble
Maria ...... Tracy Wiles
Klepp ...... Nigel Anthony
Official ...... David Timson
Young Man ...... Andrew Branch
Other parts ...... John Hartley
Dramatised by Mike Walker.
Producer: Peter Kavanagh
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1996.
THU 12:00 It Sticks Out Half A Mile (b007k1sl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:25 Inheritance Tracks (b04cb4nj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:25 today]
THU 12:30 Listen to Les (b007w2n4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jpt3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:30 Mirror, Mirror (b007rgnl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b00rzw30)
Naomi Alderman - The Lessons
Lovely Little Daisy
Rory Kinnear reads the Orange New Writer's Award Winner, Naomi Alderman's, second novel, 'The Lessons', a story of ambition, friendship, betrayal and desire. Today: Daisy, Daisy.. Mark finds the love of his life at last - only to lose it and destroy everything.
Reader Rory Kinnear
Abridger Sally Marmion
Producer Di Speirs
The Lessons is the second novel from Naomi Alderman, winner of the Orange New Writer's Award and Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year. Set among the dreaming spires of Oxford, it follows the progress of a gilded group of under-graduates drawn together by their dazzling and mercurial fellow student Mark Winters. Fuelled by his trust-fund and resident in his Georgian mansion, they live a charmed life of learning and parties and love-affairs. But university is no grounding for real life and none of the friends will be prepared, some years later, when tragedy strikes.
The Lessons is a novel about friendship, ambition, betrayal and desire, and the fact that only life can teach the lessons you really need to learn.
Naomi Alderman won the Orange New Writers Award for her first novel Disobedience and has subsequently been named as the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year. She is a graduate of Lincoln College, Oxford.
Rory Kinnear, fresh from playing Angelo at the Almeida and about to play Hamlet at the National Theatre studied at Balliol College, Oxford and reads his first Book at Bedtime.
THU 14:15 Chinese in Britain (b0079r4j)
Steam and Starch
Anna Chen sets out to uncover the early history of the Chinese who came to Britain before the takeaway boom of the 1960s.
4/10. Steam and Starch
Anna learns what it was like to live and work in the Chinese laundries which sprung up across the country during the first half of the 20th century.
From 2007.
Producer: Mukti Jain Campion
A Culture Wise Production.
THU 14:30 Alan Plater - Abandoned Projects (b009s8mt)
Episode 4
The playwright recalls a never-realised bleak opera and a film meant to star Rex Harrison. With John Woodvine.
THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b00hslb0)
Martin Gayford - Constable in Love
Episode 4
Anton Lesser reads Martin Gayford's account of the early career of John Constable and his long battle to win the hand of his future wife, Maria Bicknell, based on correspondence between the pair.
Opposition to the courtship between John and Maria was particularly fierce from her wealthy and influential grandfather, Dr Rhudde. But Constable remained as determined that they should marry as he was to succeed as a landscape painter.
THU 15:00 Classic Serial (b00sf8l0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:00 The 4 O'Clock Show (b04mlqz4)
Horror stories, exams and chocolate
Mel Giedroyc is in ghoulishly good form as she explores why we love horror stories, and there's another of children's author Jamie Rix's Ghostly Tales for Ghastly Kids.
THU 17:00 Ballylenon (b00yj976)
Series 8
Agroturismo in Irlande
Phonsie urges the residents of Ballylenon to grab agritourism grants with both hands.
Series set in the sleepy town of Ballylenon, Co Donegal in the 1960s.
Ballylenon, County Donegal. Pop. 1,999 was founded by St Lenon of Padua, when he fell into the river at this spot in 953. Ballylenon is situated on the shores of Lough Swilly with entrancing views of Muckish Mountain, in the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe. (Note: Ballylenon is a fictional name, but the other landmarks are identifiable.)
Written by Christopher Fitz-Simon.
Muriel McConkey ...... Margaret D'Arcy
Vera McConkey ...... Stella McCusker
Phonsie Doherty ...... Gerard Murphy
Mrs Vivienne Hawthorne ...... Aine McCartney
Rev. Samuel Hawthorne ...... Dermot Crowley
Kevin 'Stumpy' Bonnar ...... Gerard McSorley
Guard Gallagher ...... Frankie McCafferty
Daniel O'Searcaigh ...... James Greene
Monsignor McFadden ...... Niall Cusack
Aubrey Frawley ...... Chris McHallem
Polly Acton ...... Joanna Munro
Eamonn Doyle ...... Patrick Fitzsymons
Mr Boylan ...... Derek Bailey
Pianist: Michael Harrison
Director: Eoin O'Callaghan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2011.
THU 17:30 Stockport, So Good They Named It Once (b01nht5b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 18:00 Heresy (b017mv2b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b0076bbx)
Series 2
Rachel Carson
Writer Bea Campbell chooses pioneering environmental protection scientist Rachel Carson. With Humphrey Carpenter.
The biographical series in which a distinguished guest chooses someone who's inspired their life. Will their hero stand up to intensive scrutiny and merit the description of having led a great life? From 2002.
THU 19:00 It Sticks Out Half A Mile (b007k1sl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:25 Inheritance Tracks (b04cb4nj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:25 today]
THU 19:30 Listen to Les (b007w2n4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 RW Fassbinder - No-One Is Evil and No-One Is Good (b04mm4wc)
4 Extra Debut. Can the end of the world also spell hope? Petrov and Elvira dimly recall all that we take for granted. Starring Nigel Anthony.
THU 20:30 Mirror, Mirror (b007rgnl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Gunter Grass - The Tin Drum (b007jlvd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
THU 22:00 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b04lss87)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Newsjack (b04mlhm3)
Series 11
Episode 6
Made for 4 Extra. The week's stories cobbled together in a scrapbook sketch show. Uninformed, up to the minute, down to the dregs. Presented by Romesh Ranganathan.
THU 23:00 At Home With The Snails (b007jvlw)
Series 2
Episode 1
George and Beverley decide to feign their deaths to see how their children will cope with the grief.
He wants to write a book about it all and she hopes they’ll realise how much they miss them, so that they can become one big happy reunited family.
But will their plan actually work?
Second series of Gerard Foster's comedy drama
George ..... Geoffrey Palmer
Beverley ..... Angela Thorne
Alex ..... Gerard Foster
Rose ..... Miranda Hart
Hosana ..... Debra Stephenson
Producer: Jane Berthoud
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2002.
THU 23:30 Dave Podmore (b007s7x4)
Dave Podmore's World of Cricket
Episode 2
The player battles a case of libel based on an alleged encounter in a portable loo.
Sitcom about the exploits of talentless, amateurish, smug, inept and self-deluding English cricketer Dave Podmore.
Starring Chris Douglas and Andrew Nickolds with Chris Pavlo and Nicola Sanderson.
Written by Chris Douglas, Andrew Nickolds and Nick Newman.
Producer: Richard Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2002


FRIDAY 31 OCTOBER 2014

FRI 00:00 Book at Bedtime (b00rzw30)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:15 Chinese in Britain (b0079r4j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Alan Plater - Abandoned Projects (b009s8mt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 00:45 Book of the Week (b00hslb0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Heresy (b017mv2b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Great Lives (b0076bbx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jpt3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 Mirror, Mirror (b007rgnl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Classic Serial (b00sf8l0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 Gunter Grass - The Tin Drum (b007jlvd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Ballylenon (b00yj976)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 Stockport, So Good They Named It Once (b01nht5b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jptk)
Series 1
A Case of Haddock and Plaice
An elderly couple's time-share cash con sparks private investigator Stephen J Blackburn's first case abroad.
The last of five cases for the ex-pitman turned investigator and his government scheme-funded assistant Tracey. Set in a South Yorkshire town that's seen better days.
Starring Fine Time Fontayne as Stephen J Blackburn, Judy Flynn as Tracey Duggan.
With Gerry Kersey, Lorraine Peters, Norman Mills, Lucia Laratonda and James Tomlinson.
Scripted by Ian McMillan, Martyn Wiley and Dave Sheasby
Directed for BBC North East by Dave Sheasby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1989.
FRI 06:30 Why Is the 1812 So Popular? (b0076ybk)
Tchaikovsky himself said his overture glorying Napoleon's retreat from Moscow had 'no artistic merit', so why is it so popular? Alasdair Malloy investigates. From May 2006.
FRI 07:00 Do Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me (b0076hn4)
Series 1
She's Funny That Way
Could the return of an old flame mark the end of Roy and George's musical marriage? Stars Ram Jam Holder. From November 2003.
FRI 07:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b00x97hy)
Series 6
Gone Fishing
On a fishing trip to Spiggy Lakes with long suffering friends, Sally, Geoffrey and Wilf, things start to go awry for Arthur after he 'finds' a rowing boat.
He thinks may give him the edge in their £5.10 per head sweepstake based on who will catch the most fish, and sets out into the lake unaccompanied.
Cast:
Steve Delaney
Alastair Kerr
Dave Mounfield
Mel Giedroyc
Producers: Richard Daws, Mark Radcliffe & John Leonard
A Komedia Entertainment & Smooth Operations production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 08:00 Jim the Great (b0218l5j)
Series 1
The King Jim Abacus Dating Service
The moustachioed monarch has a go at match-making, but warm hearts come with cold feet.
Historical regal romp starring Jimmy Edwards.
With Julian Orchard, John Baddeley, Joan Sanderson, Alexandra Dane, Fred Harris, Nicolette McKenzie and Douglas Blackwell.
Jim The Great ran for 2 series on BBC Radio 2 between 1976 - 1979.
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in April 1977.
FRI 08:30 The Men from the Ministry (b00ysk98)
Four Men in a Wellington
The bumbling civil servants investigate a phantom air force base.
A weekly tribute to all those who work in government departments.
Starring Richard Murdoch and Deryck Guyler.
Number One ...... Deryck Guyler
Number Two ...... Richard Murdoch
Mildred Murfin ...... Norma Ronald
With special guests Kenneth Horne and Sam Costa.
And John Graham, Antony Viccars and Douglas Hankin.
Written by Edward Taylor, Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer.
'The Men from the Ministry' ran for 14 series between 1962 and 1977. Deryck Guyler replaced Wilfrid Hyde-White from 1966. Sadly many episodes didn't survive in the archive, however the BBC's Transcription Service re-recorded 14 shows in 1980 - never broadcast in the UK, until the arrival of BBC Radio 4 Extra.
Producer: Edward Taylor,
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in April 1968.
FRI 09:00 Jest a Minute (b012rys1)
Series 1
Episode 3
Rhod Gilbert chairs the Radio Wales comedy quiz. With special guests Roger Monkhouse and Kirsten O'Brien. From September 2006.
FRI 09:30 Rent (b04mljmt)
Series 2
Episode 2
When everyone's gone down with a cold, including the amateur DJ, there's only one person who can save the day ...
Lucy Flannery's Writers' Guild award-winning sitcom about Maria and Richard who take in lodgers.
Maria ...... Barbara Flynn
Richard ...... Patrick Barlow
Amy ...... Linda Polan
Paul ...... Toby Longworth
Ruby ...... Vivienne Rochester.
Producer: Liz Anstee.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1995.
FRI 10:00 Henry James - The Turn of the Screw (b007jvdv)
When a new young Governess arrives at Bly, a remote country house in Essex, she fears that her two young charges, Flora and Miles, may be hiding a dark secret. As the days go by, she witnesses some strange visions which lead her to the conclusion that the house - and the children- are possessed by evil forces.
Starring Cathy Sara at the Governess, Tina Gray as Mrs Grose, Joseph Tremain as Miles and Lulu Popplewell as Floral.
Dramatised by Neville Teller. Directed by Peter Leslie Wild.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
FRI 11:00 Heidi Amsinck - Danish Noir (b01j2fd7)
The Wailing Girl
In these three specially-commissioned tales by Heidi Amsinck, Denmark is a mysterious place of twilight and shadows: a mysterious place where strange and sometimes dark things happen.
At the castle at Amalieholm, legend has it that you can hear a girl crying at night, supposedly the ghost of a young maid who was drowned in the moat by a nobleman after giving birth to his child. Magnus, the castle guide, doesn't believe in ghosts, but wonders what would happen if the castle owner, 95-year-old Baroness Feltenborg, could be made to believe in the wailing girl?
Written by Heidi Amsinck
Read by Tim McInnerny
Producer: Ros Ward
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 11:15 Julian MacLaren-Ross - I Had to Go Sick (b007f050)
Will a soldier ever get signed off sick? Nobel Prize-winner Harold Pinter reads a tale of service life in the Second World War.
FRI 11:40 Julian MacLaren-Ross - Second Lieutenant Lewis: A Memoir (b007f1qj)
World War Two - a soldier recalls an unlikely friendship with Welsh poet Alun Lewis. Read by the playwright Harold Pinter.
FRI 12:00 The Missing Hancocks (b04mlkw2)
Director's Commentary
The Missing Hancocks are five episodes of Hancock's Half Hour either missing or lost from the archive which BBC Radio 4 have remade to celebrate the show's 60th anniversary.
In this "directors' commentary" Andy Hamilton introduces the first episode of the series, The Matador. Andy stops the action as he talks to co-producer Neil Pearson and - the actor charged with playing the lad 'imself - Kevin McNally about the challenges, and joys, of recreating a 1950s sitcom in 2014.
The conversation takes in the casting, production and even the music of the show, as well as what got changed in these new recordings.
A must-listen for fans of good comedy and good radio - and, specifically, Hancock's Half Hour.
Producer Ed Morrish.
MADE FOR BBC RADIO 4 EXTRA.
FRI 12:45 The New Elizabethans (b01k2f7z)
Tony Hancock
The New Elizabethans: Tony Hancock the comedy actor and star of radio and TV and film. Best known for Hancock's Half Hour, written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, where he epitomised the little man's struggle against the world. He was always fighting against something, quite often himself. With the advent of TV, his battles with officialdom, and his gloomy reflections on the injustices visited on him, were in every living room.
Sadly he began drinking heavily and his personal life unravelled. His vulnerability was exposed in a BBC interview with John Freeman in 1960 called Face to Face. Although he went to Australia in the hope of a revival it wasn't a success and he committed suicide in 1968 at the age of 44. Yet Hancock's Half Hour is still considered one of the most important yardsticks against which British sitcoms are measured and it could be said that Alan Partridge and David Brent owe much of their success to Tony Hancock's character.
The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.
They were asked to choose: "Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and/or given the age its character, for better or worse."
Producer: Clare Walker.
FRI 13:00 The Blackburn Files (b007jptk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Why Is the 1812 So Popular? (b0076ybk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b00rzw32)
Naomi Alderman - The Lessons
The Marks of Love
Rory Kinnear reads the final epsiode of the Orange New Writer's Award Winner, Naomi Alderman's, second novel, 'The Lessons', a story of ambition, friendship, betrayal and desire. Today: The marks of love. Jess tells James some home truths.
Reader Rory Kinnear
Abridger Sally Marmion
Producer Di Speirs
The Lessons is the second novel from Naomi Alderman, winner of the Orange New Writer's Award and Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year. Set among the dreaming spires of Oxford, it follows the progress of a gilded group of under-graduates drawn together by their dazzling and mercurial fellow student Mark Winters. Fuelled by his trust-fund and resident in his Georgian mansion, they live a charmed life of learning and parties and love-affairs. But university is no grounding for real life and none of the friends will be prepared, some years later, when tragedy strikes.
The Lessons is a novel about friendship, ambition, betrayal and desire, and the fact that only life can teach the lessons you really need to learn.
Naomi Alderman won the Orange New Writers Award for her first novel Disobedience and has subsequently been named as the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year. She is a graduate of Lincoln College, Oxford.
Rory Kinnear, fresh from playing Angelo at the Almeida and about to play Hamlet at the National Theatre studied at Balliol College, Oxford and reads his first Book at Bedtime.
FRI 14:15 Chinese in Britain (b0079tf0)
Educated in Britain
Anna Chen sets out to uncover the early history of the Chinese who came to Britain before the takeaway boom of the 1960s.
5/10. Educated in Britain
A young man from Canton called Wong Fun became the first recorded Chinese student here when he received his MD at Edinburgh in 1855. Today there are over 50,000 Chinese students in Britain. Anna investigates why so many Chinese sought an education at British universities, particularly those in Scotland.
From 2007.
Producer: Mukti Jain Campion
A Culture Wise Production.
FRI 14:30 Alan Plater - Abandoned Projects (b009scn3)
Contrasting Phone Calls and the Beatles
Two late-night phone calls bring playwright Alan Plater very different news, as he concludes his own story. With Christian Rodska.
FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b00hslb2)
Martin Gayford - Constable in Love
Episode 5
Anton Lesser reads Martin Gayford's account of the early career of John Constable and his long battle to win the hand of his future wife, Maria Bicknell, based on correspondence between the pair.
After seven years of courtship, Maria and John finally married in a quiet ceremony with no family members in attendance. Now the serious production of paintings and of children could begin in earnest.
FRI 15:00 Henry James - The Turn of the Screw (b007jvdv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 The 4 O'Clock Show (b04mlqz6)
Halloween, cobwebs and kiwi fruit
Mel Giedroyc is in high spirits as she presents lots of Halloween fun, including a look at the strength of spider's webs and the final Ghostly Tale for Ghastly Kids, by Jamie Rix.
FRI 17:00 King Street Junior Revisited (b00k8x8x)
Series 3
Flaming June
A weekend away in the country - and under canvas. Memories will be made of this.
School comedy created and written by Jim Eldridge. Ten series of this King Street Junior ran between 1985 and 1998. King Street Junior Revisited ran from 2002 to 2005.
Stars Marlene Sidaway as Miss Lewis, Michael Cochrane as Mr Maxwell, Teresa Gallagher as Miss Featherstone, Jacqueline Beatty as Miss Reid, Janice Acquah as Mrs Khan, Paul Copley as Mr Long, Stephen Critchlow as the Security Guard, Matthew Protheroe as Wayne, Leah Verity-White as Amy, Pax Baldwin as Iqbal, Corinne Douglas as Karim and Jafer Husseyin as Terry.
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2004.
FRI 17:30 Do Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me (b0076hn4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 18:00 Jest a Minute (b012rys1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 18:30 Pioneers (b014qz46)
Series 2
The Samaritans
Father Roy Day and Mike Tunstall chat to Clare English about the history of the first 24-hour helpline in the UK, the Samaritans.
The duo recall how the charity's founder, Chad Varah, provided a lifeline to many vulnerable people.
Producer: Philip Sime
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in 2011.
FRI 19:00 Andrew Maxwell's Hallowe'en Hoolie (b04mlpx7)
The Irish comedian Andrew Maxwell loves Hallowe'en. That's why he's determined to reclaim it from the Americans. Forget pumpkins, fake fangs and plastic paraphernalia, the origins of Hallowe'en lie in the Celtic feast of Samhain.
Andrew hears from Professor Ronald Hutton about the ancient roots of this celebration which marked the threshold between summer and winter. He quizzes the folklorists Steve Roud and Doc Rowe about the British customs that have grown into trick or treating and fancy dress. One of America's leading historians of Hallowe'en, Lesley Bannatyne, traces the transformation of traditions as they crossed the Atlantic from Ireland to the New World, and describes how 21st Century Americans have taken Hallowe'en 'haunting' to a whole new level. The storyteller Clare Murphy frightens the wits out of Andrew with her eerie account of a faerie changeling, and the psychologist Claudia Hammond explains the science behind why so many of us love scary stories. Along the way Andrew tucks into curiously hard 'soul cakes', seeks to predict his guests' fortunes with charms hidden inside barmbrack, and indulges in a spot of spectre-hunting in a London pub said to be haunted by Dick Turpin.
Prepare to be spooked by otherworldly radio archives, including The League of Gentlemen's Ghost Chase.
Produced by Moy McGowan.
FRI 22:00 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b00x97hy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 BBC New Comedy Awards (b04mlpx9)
2014
Heat eight
Made for 4 Extra. Eighth heat of the 2014 BBC Radio New Comedy Award. Recorded in London and hosted by Arthur Smith.
FRI 23:25 The Comedy Club Interviews (b04nz962)
The best in contemporary comedy. Tonight, Arthur Smith chats to Holly Burn.
FRI 23:30 Children's Hour with Armstrong and Miller (b00933zr)
Episode 4
Martin Bain-Jones is left in the studio, while Craig Children's got a dubious new job.
Ben Miller and Alexander Armstrong star as the pompous critics.
With:
Charlie Condou
Melissa Lloyd
Tony Gardner
Written by Ben Miller and Alexander Armstrong.
Producer: Jon Rolph
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1998.